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Trekkers have described encountering "harsh" situations after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped numerous of people on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China stated that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of tourists had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had hit the area on the weekend, stranding hundreds of people at campsites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the harshest conditions I've ever faced in all my trekking experiences, without question," Dong Shuchang said on social media, detailing a "violent convective snowstorm on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and noticed that the accumulation had almost covered the peak," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I truly felt the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China mentioned their party had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their shelters, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They decided to descend on the next day as the conditions worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide's father who had come looking for him. It was then we discovered the storm was intense in the lowlands too; locals, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the Nepal side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for easier trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage posted online showed tents buried in snow and rows of trekkers moving through waist-high snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the trail very slick. Hikers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, some were jostled by yaks," said one, who clarified that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "in good health," official sources announced.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been reached, the updates said. Media outlets reported that scores of rescuers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

There was little official reporting or new details about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the weather had impacted anyone on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The area is strictly regulated by the Chinese government, and media entry is limited. The conditions also appears to have have affected phone services, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

October is a peak season for the area, with typically clear and mild weather, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had never encountered such weather in October. And it occurred all too suddenly."

The regional travel department announced ticket sales and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused landslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in Nepal.